Tag Archives: Minorities

ISLAMABAD – Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated on Wednesday by unidentified gunmen in Sector I-8/3 as he was leaving his mother’s house to attend a cabinet meeting.Eyewitnesses said that the minister was leaving his mother’s house when the gunmen stopped his official car at 10:50am, riddled him with Kalashnikov bullets and fled the scene, leaving behind pamphlets claiming that the minister was killed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Punjab and al Qaeda because

KARACHI – The religious minorities of Sindh have termed the assassination of Federal Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti ‘the end of the road for religious minorities in Pakistan’ as they are no longer safe in the country.Representative organisations of Hindus – the largest religious minority in Pakistan – announced celebrating their religious festival Shivaratri on Wednesday evening with simplicity to mourn the minister’s murder. Talking to Pakistan Today, Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – The National Assembly Standing Committee on Minorities on Saturday passed a unanimous resolution, asking the government in to increase seats for minorities in the National Assembly in accordance with the census of 1998.Shahbaz Bhatti, minister for minorities, assured the committee that the matter would be taken up at the appropriate level. He also told the committee that a cell in the ministry was being established to monitor the implementation of the five percent

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met the minister for Minorities Affairs in a show of support for religious freedom as tensions mount in Pakistan, he said Friday. Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who has faced a wave of threats, said he spoke with Clinton on Thursday and explained his initiative to set up local committees around Pakistan to promote interfaith harmony.“She was very supportive of religious freedom,” Bhatti told AFP. “She said religious

ISLAMABAD – Despite its tall claims, the Minority Affairs Ministry failed to accomplish the projects it announced for the welfare of minorities. A ministry official, who requested anonymity, told the Pakistan Today on Sunday that the ministry had announced to draft the ‘Minorities Protection Bill’ to protect the minorities and legislate on Hindu, Sikh and Baha’i Marriage Act but so far no progress was made on the matter.“The ministry’s plan to launch an awareness campaign on

KARACHI – The Sindh government would allocate Rs 250 million for minorities in the next budget and presently, many projects are under way for their welfare at a cost of Rs 100 million, Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Information and Archives, Sharmila Farooqui said on Monday.“These funds will be used to renovate minorities’ religious and cultural places, give stipends for poor students and provide financial assistance to needy families,” she said while talking to a delegation

KARACHI – The Sindh government would allocate Rs 250 million for minorities in the next budget and presently, many projects are under way for their welfare at a cost of Rs 100 million, Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Information and Archives, Sharmila Farooqui said on Monday.“These funds will be used to renovate minorities’ religious and cultural places, give stipends for poor students and provide financial assistance to needy families,” she said while talking to a delegation

QUETTA – Chairman of the Ansar Burney Trust International and former federal minister for human rights, Ansar Burney has said that hundreds of Punjabi-speaking families, Muslims from Shia sect and Hindu families in Balochistan province were planning to migrate to safer areas fearing persecution. He said these people are fearful of extremists and fundamentalists who kidnap minority people for ransom or in some cases just brutally murder them. He was talking to journalists here on

PESHAWAR: The Christians and Hindus in Lower Dir have demanded a community center at Timergara so they could arrange their functions there. The demand was made during a Christmas ceremony held at a local hotel. An NGO, the Rural Development Organisation (RDO) had arranged the ceremony. Local Christians and Hindus participated at the event. Mr Shamoon Masih was chief guest on the occasion. Musicians and local artists presented religious songs, dances and tablues on the occasion.

LAHORE – The Pakistani flag denotes white colour for minorities and Islam also orders respect for their rights, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer said this while addressing the Christian community.Islam does not promote violence towards minorities rather it advocates the human rights, he said adding, that is why, he tried to help Asiya Bibi, after which he was made the subject of various fatwas.He said those who were putting out fatwas were the same people who did the same